Choosing Joy

Hello Mamas,
I hope you each had a lovely Thanksgiving- I truly do.
I also apologize for my delay in writing you this month.The last couple weeks have been so busy and I am certain yours have been too.  As we approach the holiday season each year, I am always amazed at how busy things get, even when I think I have it together or have things planned.  In an effort to share the realities of motherhood I want to be authentic in sharing the true stories of my experiences with you too.

It has been on my heart to talk with you about the last couple weeks and I hope it will bring you some encouragement.  Most of you will remember that little wind storm we had a week and a half ago.  It was a blustery day that turned into a storm.  A situation which caused many homes to loose their power - ours being one of them.  In the scheme of things, not a big deal; but I found myself throwing a little bit of a pity party.

Here are a few of the details I chose to focus on during those couple days...
-we lost power for a total of 48 hours.
-we shop month to month and freeze many of our groceries.  As the hours turned into days without power, I began to worry that we were going to loose all of our food and have to buy more.  Spending money we just do not have right now.
-We stayed at my mom's whose place is tiny and the kids do not sleep their best there, especially on a school night or when they are coming down with colds.
-it was tiring to drive back and forth for clothes each day and check on things. Laundry was piling up and pretty soon we were running out.
-Mops was canceled and I love seeing all of you mamas a couple times a week.
-I couldn't make coffee every morning and had to go to starbucks.  The second morning they were literally out of drip coffee.
-p.s. it was cold!!!!

Ok.  Even when I write this list and read back over it - I am reminded of how negative it sounds. Sure these were some of the things that were happening and it was also the perspective I was choosing.

But... here is what really happened. It all started with Starbucks.  That second day when I went for my coffee and they were out - I instinctively thought about being frustrated.  As they apologized they also handed me a free coffee voucher.  I quickly realized how wrong my perspective had been.
I again ran through my list above, but instead this time the list looked something like this...

-We only lost power for 48 hours and it could have been longer.  It could have been worse.  Electricity is a pretty wonderful invention that we live with daily.
-We have food and a lot of it.  We can handle the need to replace it one time if needed.
-We had a warm place to stay and were with family. We had each other.
-I was given a break from folding loads and loads of laundry.
-I ran into one of you from Mops during Everly's ballet and had a impromptu play date.  Just what both Everly and I needed.
-I got a free coffee when I couldn't really afford to be out buying lattes.
-We had heated cars and a place with heat.

I have to continue to remind myself to try my best to choose joy in situations where sometimes it is easier to choose something else.  It is a practice to be intentional about and like I said it is something I struggle with, especially as a mama with busy schedules, sick kiddos, no power and the holidays around the corner.  My hope in sharing this with you is that when you are feeling a bit overwhelmed that you will see there are the sweet little gifts inside of the tough places.  Hang in there mamas and know that you are not alone.

Hope that your week is off to a good start and looking forward to seeing you soon.

Annie